


Bruce

by RichardGraysonPercyJackson



Series: I'm Sorry [22]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Anorexia, Crying, Eating Disorders, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 07:33:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18339062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichardGraysonPercyJackson/pseuds/RichardGraysonPercyJackson
Summary: Bruce shows up.*Originally titled "I'm So Sorry"





	Bruce

It had been three weeks, Bruce belatedly realized, since he had seen Tim or Damian. Robin had been benched for disobeying an order and shortly after, Bruce had become wrapped up in a case.

So it was only now that he was noticing the silence.

Bruce looked around the empty table, frowning. “Alfred?” he asked, looking over at the butler. “Where are Tim and Damian?”

“With Master Jason, sir,” Alfred replied easily.

Bruce narrowed his eyes. “And where’s Jason?”

“With Master Richard.”

Alfred was clearly finding some form of entertainment from this. “And where’s Dick?”

“Taking a much needed vacation with his brothers, sir,” Alfred replied. “Have you finished your breakfast?”

Bruce grunted, getting to his feet and striding towards the batcave. If Alfred didn’t want to tell him where the boys were, then he had other ways of finding them.

  
  


……….

 

Exactly one hour later, Bruce was on one of his private jets, flying out to his private island in Tanzania.

The boys had really gone out of the way and Bruce, for the life of him, couldn’t figure out why.

He had a pretty good idea though.

 

……….

  
  


As he approached the home in the middle of the island, the sun having fallen a long time ago, Bruce could see through the window all four boys on the couch. Dick leaning against Jason, Damian pressed against his other side and Tim on the floor, leaning back against Dick’s legs, watching a movie.

Bruce hesitated for only a second before knocking on the door. Where he stood, he could see them easily but they couldn’t see him. Which meant he could see them all tense and look towards the door, frowning.

Jason said something to Dick and Dick sat up. Tim, Damian, and Dick stood and looked ready for a fight as Jason - predictably - pulled out a gun and made his way towards the door.

Bruce was mildly impressed that he wasn’t shot on sight as soon as Jason realized who he was.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” Jason snarled.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Bruce said calmly. “Why didn’t you tell me you were taking Damian and Tim out of the country for several weeks?”

“And Dick,” Jason added. “You know, in case you want to at least  _ pretend  _ you give a shit about his crumbling mental health.”

Bruce’s expression remained calm. “Well?” he asked.

Jason scoffed, rolling his eyes. “What are you doing here, Mr. Wayne?”

Ouch. Jason hadn’t called him Mr. Wayne since the first dozen nights he’d spent in the manor.

“I came to find out why you’re here,” he replied.

Jason was silent for a long time. “We’re helping Dick get better,” he finally said. “And if you don’t leave, you’re going to ruin everything. We’ve just finally got him to a point where he doesn’t constantly feel like cutting or killing himself.”

Bruce was mildly impressed. “May I come in?”

“I’m pretty sure I said no,” Jason replied.

Bruce ignored him and shoved his way in anyway. Jason growled and Bruce was once more surprised he didn’t get a bullet to the back.

He entered the living room and noted how the other three boys went tense, just slightly.

“Father,” Damian greeted stiffly. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you two,” he replied. “What were you thinking, leaving the country without telling me?”

“Jason’s here,” Tim said, shrugging. “And so is Dick. And it’s not like we can’t defend ourselves.”

Bruce was silent before looking over at Dick who was uneasily watching the ground, refusing to look at him.

“Dick.”

Dick looked up quickly. He was pale. “Yes?”

“May I speak to you?” Bruce asked. He glanced over at Jason. “Privately.”

“Hell no,” Jason snarled. “Get the fuck out.”

“Jay,” Dick soothed before looking back to Bruce. “Fine.”

“Grayson-”

“I’ll be fine, Dami,” Dick said with a gentle smile before he lead Bruce out to the back porch. As soon as they were gone, Jason spoke.

“I call the right to shoot Bruce in the kneecap when he destroys everything we’ve built over the last three weeks.”

“Agreed,” Damian declared.

 

………

 

Bruce and Dick had been standing in silence for five minutes.

“So,” Dick finally said, glancing over at Bruce. “If you’re going to be mad, you can blame me.”

Bruce opened his mouth to object, but Dick cut him off. “They left to help me.”

Bruce wait a beat. “Have they?” he asked. “Helped?”

“I...I guess,” Dick replied slowly. “I mean...I’ve been working so hard to find distractions for them that…” he frowned. “That I haven’t felt the need to hurt myself.”

“Have you been eating?” Bruce asked gently.

“Yeah,” Dick whispered. “To...to get Tim to eat since he’s anorexic.”

Bruce frowned, speaking without thinking. “Tim doesn’t have an eating disorder.”

Dick frowned, finally meeting Bruce’s gaze. “What?”

Realization hit Bruce like a truck. “They’re helping you,” he said slowly. “By taking a portion of your problems and acting like it’s their own.”

Dick shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“You don’t eat,” Bruce explained. “So Tim pretended to have an eating disorder to prompt you to eat.”

“Jason said he was going to hurt himself,” Dick whispered. “So I’d find a distraction.” he looked at Burce. “They manipulated me?”

“They did it to help you,” Bruce corrected. “They did what I should have done a long time ago. Dick, how long have you been feeling like you wanted to die?”

Dick swallowed thickly, taking a seat on the chair on the porch. “Since my parents died.”

“And I didn’t help, did I?” Bruce asked, taking the seat next to Dick. “I ignored you for weeks before you found out I was Batman.”

“I thought...when you were ignoring me I thought for sure it was your way of telling me I was better off dead,” Dick explained quietly. “I was getting ready to kill myself when I found out you were Batman.”

“But then that only showed you a dozen more methods and weapons to use,” Bruce muttered. After a moment, he had to know. “Why didn’t you...kill yourself after I threw you out? After our fight?”

“Someone had to be there to make sure Jason was okay,” Dick replied quietly. “I had to stay alive, at least until I knew Jason was going to be okay.”

“And then he died.”

“I really was going to do it then,” Dick said, nodding. “I really was going to kill myself after he died. I spent a week in a mental facility and when I came out, you had Tim and I had a reason to stay alive.”

“And after that?”

“If Damian hadn’t come along before you’d vanished and I had to take on Batman, I think I really would have slit my throat,” Dick replied quietly. “But I had to be there for Damian.”

“And then I came back-”

“And you two didn’t get along,” Dick said with a smile. “Damian needed me, at least until you grew a spine and learned how to be a father.”

“What stopped you after that?”

“Slade and Midnighter,” Dick answered. “But by that time I was just so tired that there wasn’t really anything they could have done.”

“And now you have a second chance,” Bruce said. “Now what?”

“I thought I’d need to stay alive for Jason and Tim and Damian,” Dick said queityl. “But now that I know they’ve been manipulating me-”

“Now that you know they’ve been  _ helping  _ you,” Bruce corrected. “Do you realize how much it will shatter them if you kill yourself anyway?”

Tears filled Dick’s eyes and his bottom lip began to shake. “Oh god,” he whispered, covering his face with his hands. “Oh god, I don’t want to die again.”

Bruce placed a gentle hand on Dick’s back and was slightly surprised when the acrobat leaned into his chest, openly sobbing. It only took him a moment before Bruce was wrapping his arms around the shaking boy and pulling him close.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “Everything is going to be okay. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Dick mumbled, still crying.

“I’m sorry I never noticed,” Bruce explained. “But I swear, Dick, I will never ignore these signs again.”

They sat there together for a long time until Dick’s crying finally tapered off into small sobs.

“Come on,” Bruce murmured. “Let’s go inside.”


End file.
